Passenger Arrested For Hijacking NYC Bus After Driver Told Her To Stop Smoking

As comfortable as it would be if the entire world was your living room, it’s not. We all have to abide by certain rules in public about behaviors that wouldn’t fly outside the home — wearing real pants, not having your butt stuck to the couch, etc. — including no smoking on New York City buses. And as one passenger learned recently, no stealing them when you’re told to behave.

Metropolitan Transportation Authorities in NYC say a passenger lit up a cigarette while she was sitting on a bus in East Harlem on Tuesday morning, reports CBS New York.

The driver noticed she was smoking and asked her to put the cigarette out and leave the bus, but instead, the woman became irate, the MTA says. In these cases, sometimes it’s just easier to get everyone else off the bus to deal with one disruptive passenger, so the driver called another bus to transfer the other passengers.

While the driver was outside the bus moving passengers from one vehicle to another, officials say the suspect jumped into the driver’s seat and simply drove away.

She made it about four blocks before a dispatcher was able to reach through the driver’s side window and turn off the vehicle, the MTA said. Officers boarded the bus and arrested the woman. She was brought to a hospital for evaluation, and charges are pending.

MTA: Irate Passenger Hijacks Bus In East Harlem After Being Told To Stop Smoking [CBS New York]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist